YANG Chao received academic training at China University of Geosciences (Beijing), then engaged in post-doctoral research at the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences from 2017 to 2021, and continued his academic career at the Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research experience across multiple academic institutions specializing in different fields of energy resources has cultivated diverse research interests and enables him to resolve interdisciplinary issues among geology, geochemistry, and geoengineering.

He is mainly committed to developing the multi-scale characterization techniques of rock physics, chemistry and mechanics, as well as the molecular and isotope geochemical analysis techniques for geological fluids and natural gases, with a focus on exploring the formation, occurrence, and effective exploitation of geoenergy resources and assessing the engineering feasibility of carbon geological sequestration coupling with enhanced hydrocarbon recovery in the reservoirs.

To date, he has published over 40 papers in peer-reviewed journals in the fields of petroleum geology, organic geochemistry, rock mechanics, and petroleum engineering, including more than 20 as first or corresponding author, with over 1500 citations and an H-index of 21.

He has served as lead or co-guest editor for special issues in two SCI journals, Frontiers in Earth Science and Processes. He currently serves as Associate Editor of the ESCI journal Natural Gas Industry B, as well as a young editorial board member for Earth Energy Science and Energy Geoscience.

Selected Publications

1. Jianfeng Wang, Chao Yang*, Yuke Liu, et al. Evolution of fracture and creep properties of an isolated type II kerogen from marine shale with maturation advancement: Contributing to shale rock mechanics modeling. Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 2026, 331, 111714.

2. Fatma Yehia, …… Jeongwon Kim, Chao Yang*, Lihua Liu*, Jihyun Hwang*. 4E analysis of an integrated system using nitrogen expansion refrigerant and LH2 cold energy for a compression-free liquid air energy storage. Energy, 2025, 333, 137542.

3. Jianfeng Wang*, Chao Yang*, Yuke Liu, et al. Using nanoindentation to quantify the mechanical profile of the Wufeng-Longmaxi Formation in southwestern China: link to sedimentary conditions. Solid Earth, 2025, 16(9), 819-839.

4. Jianfeng Wang, Chao Yang*, Yuke Liu, et al. Examining the reliability of current micro-and nano-indentation-based rock mechanical upscaling schemes: A comprehensive comparison with uniaxial/triaxial macroscopic mechanical testing. Geomechanics and Geophysics for Geo-Energy and Geo-Resources, 2025, 11(28), 1-29.

5. Chao Yang; Yuke Liu*; Jianfeng Wang; et al. Application of nanoindentation technique in mechanical characterization of organic matter in shale: Attentive issues, test protocol, and technological prospect. Gas Science and Engineering, 2023, 113, 204966.

6. Yuke Liu; Chao Yang*; Jianfeng Wang; Yongqiang Xiong; Ping'an Peng. Rheology of Coal at Particle Level Characterized by Nanoindentation. Natural Resources Research, 2023, 32(3), 1359-1380.

7. Yuke Liu; Chao Yang*; Jianfeng Wang; Yongqiang Xiong; Ping'an Peng. New insights into the hydration-induced creep behavior of shale at the microscale using nanoindentation: A comparison study of brittle black shale and clayey oil shale at micro-scale. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2022, 138: 105554.

8. Chao Yang*; Liuhua Liu; Daidai Wu; et al. Unscrambling the source kitchen and hydrocarbon prospect of the ultra-deepwater area in southern Pearl River Mouth basin, South China Sea: Insights from the first ultra-deepwater exploration well W21 with CO2-containing hydrocarbon reservoirs, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2022, 216: 110827, 1-19.

9. Chao Yang; Yongqiang Xiong*; Jianfeng Wang; et al. Mechanical characterization of shale matrix minerals using phase-positioned nanoindentation and nano-dynamic mechanical analysis. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2020, 229: 103571.

10. Chao Yang, Yongqiang Xiong*, Jinchuan Zhang. A comprehensive re-understanding of the OM-hosted nanopores in the marine Wufeng–Longmaxi shale formation in South China by organic petrology, gas adsorption, and X-ray diffraction studies. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2020, 218, 103362.

11. Chao Yang, Jinchuan Zhang*, Xiangzeng Wang, et al.. Nanoscale pore structure and fractal characteristics of a marine-continental transitional shale: A case study from the lower Permian Shanxi Shale in the southeastern Ordos Basin, China. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2018, 88: 54-68.

12. Chao Yang; Jinchuan Zhang*; Xuan Tang; et al. Comparative study on micro-pore structure of marine, terrestrial, and transitional shales in key areas, China. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2017, 171: 76-92.

▪ Sedimentary Environment and Hydrocarbon Genesis Analysis of Source Rocks

▪ Unconventional Reservoir Characterization and Mining Geomechanics Analysis

▪ Geological Carbon Storage Science and Environmental Safety Analysis

1. National Natural Science Foundation of China (General Program), No. 42272182, Coupling Relationship between the Formation and Evolution of Organoclay in Continental Shale and the Formation and Enrichment of Shale Oil, January 2023–December 2026, RMB 710,000, Principal Investigator.

2. Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (Young Scientist Promotion Program), No. 2023A1515030280, Hydrocarbon Generation Evolution of Dispersed Organic Matter in Continental Shale Matrix and Its Effect on Shale Oil Generation and Retention Reservoir Formation, January2023–December 2025, RMB 300,000, Principal Investigator.

3. Guangzhou Science and Technology Program Project, No. 2023A04J0208, Microscopic Characterization and Scale Upgrading of Shale Rheological Properties, April 2023– March 2025, RMB 50,000, Principal Investigator.

4. National Natural Science Foundation of China (General Program), No. 42073065, Geochemical Study of Methane Clathrate Isotopes in Deep Oil and Gas, January 2021–December2024, RMB 610,000, Key Researcher.

5. National Natural Science Foundation of China (Young Scientists Fund), No. 41802165, Thermal Evolution Characteristics of Mechanical Properties of Organic Matter in High-Overmature Marine Shale and Its Impact on Macroscopic Mechanical Properties of Shale, January 2019–December 2021, RMB 300,000, Principal Investigator.

6. Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (General Program), No. 2018A030313234, Oil-Bearing Property and In-Source Retention and Accumulation Model of Shale in the Second Member of the Lunxin Formation, Sanshui Basin, Guangdong Province, May 2018- April 2021, RMB 100,000, Principal Investigator.

7. China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (First-Class), No. 2017M620391, Main Controlling Factors of Shale Organic Pore Development and Thermal Evolution Sequence Model, November 2017-Present, RMB 80,000, Principal Investigator.

8. Strategic Priority Research Program (Category B) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Comprehensive Evaluation Method for Shale Gas Recoverability (XDB10010500), January 2014-December 2019, RMB 6,000,000, Key Researcher.

9. Strategic Priority Research Program (Category A) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hydrocarbon Generation Process and Physical Property Evolution of Deep Source Rocks (XDA14010102), May 2017-April 2023, RMB 10,500,000, Key Researcher.